FAQstudent

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have to take GE courses?

Courses within the structure of Gateway Education (GE) are an integral part of the overall educational experience you will have at CityU. These courses may be relevant to your major or to your personal interest. You are encouraged to consider how a course might be useful to your current interests and goals. An important part of academic planning is working with an academic advisor not only to understand the GE requirements, but also to make sure that course selections complement the academic requirements of your specific major.

Under the new four-year undergraduate degree structure, all students entering City University from 2012 will be required to take a suite of GE courses in order to gain a multi-disciplinary learning experience. We encourage you to integrate work inside and outside the classroom by means of internships, co-curricular opportunities, beyond the university gates such as communities of business, law, communication, science and engineering, and other social organizations.

How many GE courses do I have to take to graduate?

All students must fulfill at least 30 units (10 courses) of GE.

Gateway Education consists of two parts:

University requirements:

Applicable to all students regardless of their majors.

You have to complete 6 credit units of 'English' and 3 credit units of 'Chinese Civilisation - History and Philosophy', and

College/school requirements:

This includes 21 credit units where you take a minimum of 3 credit units from each of the three GE areas of

The remainder of credit units allows you to choose from a variety of GE courses that will develop powers of synthesising, adapting, applying, or comparing different approaches in various fields of study.

Do GE courses have to be taken in a sequence?

To maximise the benefits of your GE experience, we recommend that you should follow a sequence of courses from lower numbered to higher numbered courses in each of the three areas, throughout the 4-years of your education at CityU.

Or

It is recommended that you should discuss your interest in the GE courses with your academic advisor. Given that you are required to take a course from one the three areas: 'Arts and Humanities', 'Study of Societies, Social and Business Organisations', and 'Science and Technology', you may want to supplement your GE studies by taking additional courses from anyone of those areas, or broaden your scope by taking a variety of courses that are offered within those areas.

Who will advise me?

In most cases Programme Leaders within a department will provide advising to students on matters related to courses in the Major as well as Gateway Education. You should contact them first. Additionally, the Associate Deans of the Colleges/Schools are a good source of information on Gateway Education courses. For all other questions regarding GE, you should contact EDGE.